Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super

[drewskiren]

Not tons to report tonight, just working on stripping the Jag. Everything on the engine is free of the car, but we still have to drop some belly pans and the exhaust. The drivers side of the rear is clear and working on the passenger side. I'm pointing to the 4 bolts on each side that hold the whole assembly to the car frame rails - these and 2 lower control arms. Our goal is to have both front and rear out by the weekend.

[drewskiren]

Serious Biz & Daddy time today, we got the rear cage/irs out piece of cake. We've been at it since 11 am and just now stopped. Front is coming along, but it's a bit more complicated. I got a call from my Craigslist add for all of the Jag parts and a guy is coming after church for the engine, front and rear bumpers, and a few other things. Keeping my fingers crossed because that will be over half the money we paid for the car!

[FL71C10]

Sounds like a great day. I'll bet you are both a little sore in the morning.

[drewskiren]

I guarantee I'll be sore, we are calling it a night after a 13 hour straight thrash. Kudos to Biz for hanging with me the WHOLE time and never once giving up on any assigned tasks!!!









Now I've just got to pull the engine from the cradle for the guy to come for the engine. Already got his paypal money.

[Advanced Design]

Good progress and great time together. Looks good.

[oldman3]

You both will have something to talk about for years, good bonding...Jim

[notchbackgta]

Long time lurker here. Saw this at the JY today, an 84 with the Buick sitting right next to it....



If you want me to go back and look at anything for you let me know

[drewskiren]

Originally Posted by notchbackgta

Long time lurker here. Saw this at the JY today, an 84 with the Buick sitting right next to it....



If you want me to go back and look at anything for you let me know

YES!!!!!!

I need several trim parts, etc. Was it a 2 door or 4 door?

[notchbackgta]

I think it was a 4 door from the picture, I think that is the rear handle just peaking out behind the Jag rear window. I didn't look at it too long, it was picked pretty clean and most of the sheet was rotted through. PM me with what you need and I'll try to go next weekend

[Low Elco]

Whoof! That's a garage fulla crap! I'd have trouble just keepin' it all straight! Looks like you got good help, though.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Your parts car is nicer than most project cars! Almost a shame even for a 4 door. Looks great so far!

[drewskiren]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Whoof! That's a garage fulla crap! I'd have trouble just keepin' it all straight! Looks like you got good help, though.

It is a load, but I did manage to get rid of the Jag lump and some other bits for some cash today.

[drewskiren]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Your parts car is nicer than most project cars! Almost a shame even for a 4 door. Looks great so far!

The floors are very gone in the 4 door and a fair bit of rot everywhere, but it does look pretty decent at first glance. $800 all in should tell you it is a little rough.

[drewskiren]

I've been out in the shop tonight working out ride height and how to mount the front cross member and suspension. As seen in the pictures, I'm going for rockers at 8 inches off the pavement which puts my frame at 6 inches off.
the Jag Crossmember is very compact and will actually end up at least 2 inches higher than the frame off of the ground - so that's nice. The crossmember unit only uses 4 mounting points, all rubber isolated for that Jag smooth ride... errrr I mean Buick smooth ride. The rear mount lines up perfectly with a flat spot on the Buick frame just before it starts to curve down to go under the body. That mount must be perfectly level front to rear to keep the castor geometry correct. That part of the Buick frame is perfectly level with the whole car, so that works out perfectly. Currently I have a 27 inch tire and if I mount the crossmember unit directly to my level spot on the Buick frame it will work out that I would be a half inch lower at the rocker than I am now. By doing a 28 inch tire, that will pick me up the half inch I'm off by. I am literally pinching myself at how well this is all working out. I had expected that I would have to be carving out pockets in the frame and remaking stuff on the front, but so far, so good. I do know already that the rear will need a lot of frame reworking, but I had seen those pictures already on the H.A.M.B blog about a 57 Oldsmobile. TTFN

[Zoomin]

Drew & Biz, keep it up! You guys are kickin it - of course the suspension working out so good helps.

[Crash_OK]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Drew & Biz, keep it up! You guys are kickin it - of course the suspension working out so good helps.

Agreed!!

[drewskiren]

OOPS, spoke too soon. I forgot I had already measured the width of the frame and need to trim out about 1.5 inches. I knew there would be something to make it a little tough. No worries though, I've already got a plan to slice out the extra width and weld it back up. Now I just need the Buick lump out of the way. I had left it in to keep weight on the front end while I figured out ride height, although you can tell by the pictures I had to add a good bit more to help me "see" the ride height I wanted in the final production.

[knomadd]

Originally Posted by drewskiren

... although you can tell by the pictures I had to add a good bit more to help me "see" the ride height I wanted in the final production.

I was wondering what all that stuff was there for. I was literally thinking, what's with all the dumbbells? Glad you explained it.

Sounds like things are working out well. Glad to hear it. Can't wait for the next update.

[oldman3]

Drew, great planning and ready for the next update...Jim

[drewskiren]

Saturday night picture time!!!

Serious Biz / Daddy time again, and we had another rare visit from the Mrs.

Engine was out with very little hassle. More to come.

[drewskiren]

I'm fairly certain looking at all that grime that it has been 58 years since the engine was not with the body!

Can somebody say "we're gonna need a high hump"!

[Advanced Design]

Good progress and great time together again. My daughters helped some, though never at this level of involvement.

Looking forward to next steps...powertrain out and front clip off is always kinda exciting...like it is a hint of what is to come.

[drewskiren]

Something else went bye-bye. This thing is HUGE and has got to weigh a good bit more than the independent Jag rear, and it was virtually all unsprung weight contributing to a rougher ride. The dirt caked on it is literally 3/8ths of an inch thick, thats a lot of leaking and a lot of dust accumulating.

[nlped]

Drew... You need a post lift!!! Just sayin'

[mcbassin]

Very nice progress on the tear down.